Vixy feels herself steel at the confession. She holds James's hands, feeling how sturdy and strong they are in her own, contrasting greatly from the softness of his voice, the way his eyes through his dark shades are wavering, refusing to look at her.
"Why are you terrified?" Vixy asks, calmly.
James shrugs and shakes his head, "I dunno, I don't feel like I should be. What you have to do and I'll just get in the way."
"If you were in my way I would've already pushed you aside," Vixy says, lowering her head to look up into his eyes. She gives him a gentle smile.
James looks down at her, shocked that she would say such a thing. "Vixy, the job-"
"Is a job," She interrupts, "You're more than that."
"Oh?"
"I think I'm in love with you, too," Vixy cups his cheek with her hand and rubs her thumb through his fur. James leans into her touch and she swears she can see him melting before her very eyes.
"Aren't you scared though?" He asks.
"All the more reason to be brave," She replies easily, "Being terrified is okay. It's what you decide to do after allowing yourself to feel it."
James stands up straighter, and his gaze shifts to that confident light she knows. His smile is cocky and charming all at once. James chuckles and pulls her close. "Guess I'll have to just sweep you off your feet."
She laughs as he leans in and gives her one of the best kisses she's ever had.
1. I like AFiS as a series overall and I think there’s some neat ideas about it but I don’t really like how AFiS Wolf has sunken its teeth into the fandom. Super unpopular opinion, I know. I don’t mind that people get inspired by that rendition of Wolf but I do feel like it’s over-saturated a lot of how Wolf is portrayed in the fandom-- like it’s fanon at this point but I would even say it’s verging a bit into what people consider to be canon. Which, I get it. AFiS Wolf is well-done, imo. He’s funny, witty, and the voice over lines are good. But... I get the feeling sometimes people just take that rendition and they run with it, without really thinking enough about the character to formulate their own headcanons and opinions. Which, I guess, portray a character however you want, even if it’s directly pulled from someone else’s ideas, but I just wish there was less of it overall.
AFiS in general makes me feel weird. Like I do like the series as a series but some of the stuff the creator has done in the past has been very questionable.
2. I... don’t really like Wolf’s SSBU costume. I think the bi flag on his jacket memes are funny but overall? I feel like the costumes don’t really even match his character. His Assault outfit was pretty wacky, I know, but I think SSB kind of took it a little too far. I would’ve preferred him in the outfit from SF64 or Starlink. I’m not even sure why they gave him that outfit to begin with. It never appears in the games.
It's wild to think you get hate for multi-shipping of all things, geez; meanwhile I'm just ecstatic to see more Fox/Krystal in my feed
Right? In a way, I feel like Frystal as a ship has become more rare and I honestly blame the crazy Frystal fans. It’s pretty rare for me to find fics that portray the relationship in a healthy way and not just Fox as an insert for the author wanting to lewd the sexy blue vixen. A shame, really. I’m hoping to do more Frystal in the near future, tbh. I feel like there needs to be a movement to reclaim it from the toxic fanbase. I love that ship but finding non-toxic content can be challenging (I also feel for the Wolfox fans who have to deal with everyone trying to make their ship toxic with Wolf being abusive towards Fox... I’ve seen that an awful lot as well.)
All of the hate I’ve gotten over the past years has been from heavy Frystal fans, who have had a bunch of colorful things to say about the fact that I also write Panstal fics. I don’t know why they bother to leave hate... if it’s a topic you don’t wanna read or don’t like, just don’t read it? Not every fic has to be catered to a specific person’s interest. I could rant about that for days tbh.
Anyways, I have two Panstal fics in the works with one being edited atm and I’m just bracing myself for the shit I’m gonna inevitably get. I told my husband and we both agreed that we would read them with wine this go around. I got a full bottle in my fridge that needs to go so may as well make a game outta it at this point.
THIS... is actually VERY close to a headcanon of mine. I used to headcanon Venom as being the old Kamerian planet, Eridal (from the Dinosaur Planet beta info that’s been leaked out over the years),that was conquered by the Krazoa (hence all the monkey regalia) but then I changed it to being the original planet of the Krazoa, Aleminach, with the idea that the planet was basically ruined by Kamerian technology, hence why it’s so toxic.
I go back and forth on if I want Venom to be Eridal or Aleminach but I’m leaning more or less towards Eridal atm because I like the idea of the Krazoa taking over the old Kamerian homeworld and just overrunning it with their imagery. Makes me think of some of the Dinosaur Planet info that’s been leaked that imply the Krazoa are fake gods.
I do like the idea of Cerinia being Venom, though. That’s a neat take.
Kinda also thinking about Cerinia being Aleminach and old proto-Krazoan tech being around but the one thing that kinda makes it difficult is Krystal doesn’t really know much about the Krazoa until they’re explained to her by the EarthWalker in Krazoa Palace so eh. Going back and forth on that idea too. But that sort of speculation/theorizing is part of the fun for me!
SORRY, I went a weird direction with this one but bear with me.
---
They walked the rugged Cerinian shore, the sand beneath their feet ebony and vaguely damp from the aftermath of the lethal storm. The ocean had calmed now, leaving a disquiet that sent a shiver down her spine. It was hard to think that just hours ago, this land had been bathed in darkness-- both from the seas and the skies both. A tsunami had struck, crashing through a seaside village and obliterating any who had not been fortunate to seek higher ground in time.
This was not an accident. This was what happened when the balance of power shifted-- when the elements were not aligned. This was an unnatural occurrence and she could taste the lingering effects of water magic in the air. The vixen stepped around part of a small wooden boat that had been splintered by the rocks and gales both.
“It’s so hard to think that water could do this,” Krystal said, looking over her shoulder to her mentor. “Water is a bringer of life. And yet… I’ve never seen this level of destruction.”
“Just as water can bring life, it can take it away. The calm pool and the raging ocean are but two sides of the same coin,” Randorn replied. “Just as fire can destroy, it can also be the lively warmth that banishes winter’s cold. Nothing is ever simple in this world.”
The vixen stared out at the ocean, watching the stormy gray waters recede and surge forth. Each wave was topped with white foam. She could see rubble adrift in the water. No doubt there were bodies there too. The vixen felt nauseated at the thought and averted her gaze from the wreckage. Barely anything still stood of the village. The only sound in the silence was the gentle roar of the waves yards away.
“It’s just as the elders said. There’s someone messing with Cerinia’s elemental balance,” Randorn said after a few long moments. “Only someone practiced in the magic arts could do this. We had best return to deliver our report.”
“Shouldn’t we search for survivors?” Krystal asked, ears perked with alarm.
The brown wolf looked at her sadly, then turned away.
“You know it as well as I do. Search for any thoughts or emotions here, Krystal. You will find none. There’s no one left.”
---
They ran in tandem down the ruined hall of the EarthWalker ziggurat. Fox outpaced her just a hair, his blaster held in both hands. Crackling over the communications channel let them know that they would lose signal if they kept to their current path. Krystal tapped a button to reload her connection to the channel but it did nothing to help with the buzz of static. A few steps later and she turned it off. The noise was distracting her far more than it was helping.
“Tricky!” Krystal screamed down the hall, desperately feeling out for the EarthWalker king as she turned the corner. She couldn’t sense him. She couldn’t sense anyone but Fox’s own festering fears as they ran.
Three aparoid grunts stood in the halls, clicking as they turned to greet them with their sharpened feelers. Fox was first to open fire and Krystal quickly followed. The aparoids were reduced to scrapmetal after a few seconds and Fox turned to her. His uncertainty was clearly written across his face but she could sense it. It dug deep into her heart like barbs and hurt. Spirits, did it hurt… She could feel his memories of the EarthWalker threatening to bubble over and overwhelm his mind.
“Can you sense him?” the vulpine asked between pants.
“No,” Krystal shook her head.
Memories filled her vision. She saw Fox fending off blue-scaled SharpClaw in the snow as Tricky hid behind his leg. She saw Fox freeing him from a cage in a lava-filled mine. She saw Fox hugging him just before he left Sauria. His anguish was unbearable and she withdrew her telepathy. The vixen rubbed her forehead, feeling the humidity cling to her azure fur.
“It’s possible they fled before the invasion got here,” Fox said. Krystal knew he wasn’t just trying to reassure her.
“We’ve got to keep going. The main chamber’s walls could be thick enough to block out my telepathy,” Krystal replied.
Fox nodded and they were off again. The ziggurat had been carved similarly to the rest of the EarthWalker structures-- layered with nearly identical levels cut in a square-like pattern. The same sun and moon patterns flashed by as they ran. It felt like they were getting no where until light broke through the ceiling and the two foxes soon found themselves nearing the top of the ziggurat.
Above, a battle raged on. Slippy and Falco were fending off the aparoids as best as they could but even at a glance, the vixen could tell they were sorely outnumbered. If they did not act fast to repel the aparoids, the entire planet could be lost. With her heart racing, Krystal ran for the door into the central chamber. She grabbed near the bottom of the sun emblem, trying to force it open. It would not budge. Fox ran to help her and together, they were able to force it upright.
Inside was a grim sight. EarthWalker corpses lay scattered about, their blood staining the white stone floor. Aparoids were crawling everywhere. Small orblike sacs were clustered in the corners of the grand room. An aparoid was digging into the flesh of one of the EarthWalkers, clearly trying to merge with the lifeless body. The vixen felt a gasp fall from her lips. Fox was deadly silent next to her but she could taste his horror like a numbing freeze of ice.
When the nearest aparoid soldier took note of them, Fox leapt into action. He hurled a grenade inside and opened fire. Krystal found herself following suit-- firing into the room as the aparoids made their charges towards them. As their lasers blazed through the violet metal that made up their insectoid bodies, the vixen felt a rush of hatred that blinded her. She bared her teeth in a snarl as she fired into the nearest soldier.
It took her a moment to realize that the searing rage was not just her own.
Fox lunged forward at the soldier, rolling another grenade under the creature’s feet. It exploded, its body shooting towards the ceiling before crashing back down. He pivoted on his right foot then spun around to blast through the nearest cluster of aparoid larva. After the last soldier had fallen, Fox continued to fire until the eggs had become nothing but smoldering ash. He rubbed his mouth with the back of his hand, glaring down at the destroyed aparoids with such intense loathing that the vixen flinched for a moment.
Krystal ran to the nearest EarthWalker body, putting a hand on his flank and feeling for any sign of life. There was none. Tears flaking her lashes, she looked at the others-- the ones with the torn throats, the lifeless eyes, the blood that pooled in impossible amounts around them. There was nothing. It had been a complete bloodbath-- one that had likely happened just moments before. Too late, the vixen cursed quietly. They had been too late.
“Damn it all,” Fox seethed. He turned and punched the nearest wall with such ferocity and suddenness that Krystal jumped.
“Is… is he…?” Krystal managed to ask, looking at Fox as he hung his head.
“No,” Fox said after a moment. “Tricky’s not here.”
She breathed a shuddering sigh of relief, wiping her tears away as discreetly as she could. Though she had not personally known any of these EarthWalkers, she felt their lingering fear taint the air. Their regrets twisted her emotions into knots and she tried her best to detach from the situation. But spirits was it hard. It was so, so hard… She forced herself not to cry. She pleaded with herself to stay alert. They were still in the middle of a battlefield.
“Krystal, we need to go. There’s no one left,” Fox said to her. “The others are gonna need our help soon. The skies will be overrun.”
“Y-yes…” the vixen replied with a nod.
They departed the room with the massacre in silence. Silence that felt all too familiar in a situation that just felt more and more terrifying. The vixen stared ahead, that numbness never quite going away even as they departed the ziggurat. She readied her blaster as soon as the waning sunlight came into view, but her breaths were shaky.
“What is it?” He asked her.
“I just… I’ve never seen you like that before,” Krystal said quietly.
“Like what?” Fox asked with concern.
“So angry,” the vixen answered breathlessly, her words trembling.
“I…” His tipped ears went back for a moment. “I’m sorry if I scared you.”
“It’s fine,” she answered, steeling her words. “Even the most gentle person can get angry sometimes.”
Like water, she realized. Fox was like water. His tide pulled people in. His resolve, his current, moved his team forward. He could be as calm as a serene pool. Or as wrathful as a tidal wave.
She continued, shaking herself back into focus. “And that… that was awful. But he could still be out there. We just need to keep trying.”
“We’ll find him,” Fox said confidently. He gently touched her shoulder for a moment. Then, they were off once more-- plunging through the humid jungle with the sounds of war all around them.
You said Starlink was your introduction to Star Fox franchise!! I'm glad to see younger folks still discovering it and that it still has an audience outside of those nostalgic for the older games. 😚
WAAAH yeah!!!! i kind of started getting interested into sf bc of wolf in smash bros ultimate, my brother was super excited and the hype extended to me. i remembered playing brawl when i was a little kid so i was excited to finally have a chance to get a character i didn't get to have: wolf (my brawl disk was messed up, we could only play on infinite time mode, no stocks, otherwise the disk would stop working)
and then over a year ago i saw the reveal of the star wolf dlc in starlink during the nintendo direct i was watching with my friends and everything was history
DJFJSDKF Omg thank you so much <3 I have been blown away by all of the comments I’ve gotten so far and just... it fueled me to sit down and write an entire chapter so uhhhh thank you, please keep the positivity coming because apparently that makes me just sit and bang out like 4k words in one afternoon?
Gonna do edits then prob have it up in like the next day or so LOL
